NMSO concert preview: ``Choral Spectacular,'' May 19, 2002

On Sunday, May 19, at 3pm, we performed a chorus-only
concert at Central United Methodist Church. In early
June, we'll record all this material as a CD.

Repertoire, in English except where noted:

Ave Maria, Franz Biebl, in Latin;

Hymn to St. Cecilia, Benjamin Britten;

Gladsome Light, Alexandr Gretchaninoff, in Slavonic;

Der Abend and O Schöne Nacht,
Johannes Brahms, in German;

Trois Chansons Brettonnes, Henk Badings, in French;

La Pastorela, Franz Schubert, in Italian;

Widerspruch, Franz Schubert, in German;

The Red Pear Tree, a world premiere by NMSO Chorus
member Alf Houkom;

five Irish folk songs arranged by Alice Parker
(Wearin' of the Green, Has Sorrow Thy
Young Days Shaded, Sing, Sing,
The Minstrel Boy, and My Gentle Harp);

Streets of Laredo, arr. Ralph Hunter;

Jesus Walked This Lonesome Valley, arr. William
L. Dawson; and

The Battle of Jericho, arr. Moses Hogan.

Here is a preview article from the Albuquerque Journal
of May 12, 2002:

Chorus' new work inspired by poem

by David Steinberg, Journal Staff Writer

The New Mexico Symphony Chorus next Sunday will premiere a
five-minute work written by one of its own---basso Alf Houkom.

Titled The Red Pear Tree, it is based on a poem
of the same name by Lucile Adler of Santa Fe.

Houkom wrote it for four-part mixed chorus and piano, with the
NMSO Chorus and pianist Maribeth Gunning in mind. The symphony
commissioned the work.

``Musically, it's very descriptive and in a way very
romantic,'' said NMSO resident conductor Roger Melone, who will
conduct the concert.

``It has the kinds of dissonances in it that you would expect
from a living composer in our time, and at the same time it
changes moods to fit the words and tries to be very
descriptive,'' Melone said. ``It can be warm and quiet and
sweet, and can be loud and harsh, depending on the line or the
excitement of the poem. In that sense I think it's romantic.''

Houkom, a Corrales resident, said he started with the idea of
using a New Mexico poet.

``What happened after that was that I was going through a lot
of poetry collections in new and used bookstores,'' he said.
``This came out of a used book, a collection of her poetry. It's
a poem that struck me as very close to my heart, something I
empathized with.''

Adler's short poem opens this way:

Beside the read pear tree
And the ice-crusted pond, ready
To push off in broken shoes,
Antonio stands with his back to school...

Houkom, a veteran composer of mostly choral and vocal works,
also has written a work that the Santa Fe Desert Chorale will
perform next winter for its 20th anniversary.

The Red Pear Tree is one element of the NMSO
Chorus' concert Sunday at Central United Methodist Church.

Also on the program are a group of Irish songs with NMSO
harpist Anne Eisfeller, Benjamin Britten's Hymn to St.
Cecilia with an extended solo by lyric soprano Marilyn
Bernard, two Franz Schubert works for male chorus, Alexandre
Gretchaninoff's Gladsome Light, Trois Chansons
Bretonnes by Henk Badings, the cowboy song Streets
of Laredo and two spirituals, Jesus Walked This
Lonesome Valley and The Battle of Jericho.

Houkom said the concert represents the first time he will sing
a work that he has composed.

``It's a totally different experience to sing what you do than
to write it. The roles are so dissimilar,'' he said. ``To sing
it is more challenging than I thought. But now it's coming
together and jelling, and once you're able to go through it
completely---this is true with any music---it begins to form an
entity that you can appreciate in better ways than in sections
in a rehearsal.''